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I keep a maximum daily risk that is 2.5 times my normal play amount (a $100 bettor would have $250 as his maximum daily risk, for example). Then if I get up or down twice the daily risk amount on the week (Monday through Sunday), I quit until the next week. Using the example above, if I were up or down $500 on the week, I would pack it in.

This helps me treat handicapping like a normal job where you take your paycheck each week and go home. I am not what you would call a super sharp player but it has worked pretty well for me so far. I have won 7 of 9 weeks since I implemented these rules, with the equivalent of about 10 standard bets (units) worth of profit overall.

Great thread!! This one will definitely get printed after a few more enrtries. Here are some of mine:

- In football, always buy a half point on to or off of 3 or 7. For the first time this year, I'm tracking all my games with an excel spreadsheet and it's really eye opening to see how frequently games with lines of 3 or 7 end up being within a half point of that margin. Could be as high as 25%, but it's definitely worth the extra 10% risk in those situations. Besides, nothing feels as good as winning a play because you were smart/ballsy enough to hook it.

- Never lay 4 or more on the road in the NFL past mid October. Early in the season, the better teams tend to win easily...but once it gets to the second half of the year, for some reason...the dogs bark loudly. Think real long and hard before playing ANY favorite in the NFL past October.

- If you really want to tease a couple games, try a parlay instead. I'll tease maybe 5 or 6 times a year...and so far, every time I've done it this year I've won and didn't need the extra points. A 13 to 5 payoff is a helluva lot better than 2 to 1.

- Nothing kills a losing streak like taking a long break (at least a month). Sometimes you just know you're in a hopeless, confidence-less rut that isn't going to end any time soon...so why keep at it? Save yourself a few bucks and watch movies, do some yard work, bang the wife, etc...anything but capping. The games will always be there when you're ready to come back.

- Trust your gut most of the time...it's usually right.

- Know who you want to play, but also read/listen to what others have to say with an open mind. I've won dozens of games that I never would have played until I saw someone else write up their own reasons for playing it...and it sort of hits me in the face that I've found a solid play.

- Look for good pre-game analysis that's a little deeper than "this team SUCKS, so they're going to get rolled..."

In other words, when your man owes you a dime, it is your dime. It's not HIS dime. If you lose it, you lose your money and not "house money"

You have to value money. Count every penny. Check every dollar bill. The more a person values money, the better the chances of winning at gambling. It's the person that says, "What the hell" that loses.

Well, I try. It's tough to adhere to all the rules you know you should follow because we're humans after all. I'm doing my best to get to the emotionless Terminator phase though...

Here are some other sub-musings, geared towards some other things no one has touched on yet:

- Cincy is 100% right...the phrase "house money" makes me want to scream. It's not play money that you have to give back at the end of the games...it's YOUR MONEY! Protect it as if it's nestled in your wallet.

- Even if you're good buddies with your book and trust him to the ends of the earth, you two shouldn't be friends. Don't go drinking with him, don't play golf with him, don't do anything with him except try to take his money. It blows me away how most of my buddies who handicap also love to hang out with their locals. I consider betting to be an all out war of me vs. and him and all my offshore places...

- Stay away from services. 98% of them are crooked, and considering that you have to hit 54% just to break even by yourself, your guru will likely have to hit at a 60% clip (minimum) to cover his service fees AND make you money. If any capper could really do that over an extended period of time, we'd all be lined up at his door.

- Stay FAR away from services who want a percentage of your winnings...that kind of deal is next to impossible to profit from. It irritates me to no end when I think of all the money these clowns rake in while giving back pretty much nothing in return.

- College games are easier to predict than NFL. So many NFL games come down to pure luck; back door covers, freak turnovers, field goals that bounce off uprights, etc. None of that can be handicapped. In fact, my NFL units are about one third of my college units since it's so much more difficult to predict.

- As a general rule, underdogs will be trying to score points until the end of a game while favorites won't. If you're betting the favorite who's up late in a game, all they really care about is winning outright and you have the chance of being back doored. If you're on a dog though, if they're up outright late in the game then you're likely golden. If the dog is down as expected, they'll continue to try to score points to at least make it more respectable until the final whistle. Something to think about.

- Avoid a service who offers a GOY every single year...ie "Doc's Big 10 GOY." To me, a GOY is something you unload on because in your opinion there is a huge error in the posted line. Are you telling me that before every season starts, Doc knows for sure that the books will have an egregious line error in one of the upcoming B10 games? You might find games you feel that strongly about every now and then, but they probably won't (shouldn't) come around every year.